Sections

1. Position as you begin your study (2 pgs).
Draft in class A1, B1, C1, D1, E1 the week of 9/10
Final Draft A1, B1, C1, D1, E1 the week of 9/17

Name and telephone number of your contact person, the address of your site and directions to your site.   Using web resources, find out information about your site and write a page of introduction about your service agency.  What agency have you chosen to work with?  Why?  What do you already know about it (or think you know): problems they address, solutions they provide, how they are fundeds?  What questions do you have about the agency?  What doubts or concerns do you have about serving its clientele or doing the work of the agency?  What do you hope to gain from the experience?  Explain.

2. Vicarious experience (2 pgs). 
Draft in class A1, B1, C1, D1, E1 the week of 9/24
Final Draft A1, B1, C1, D1, E1 the week of 10/1       

Before you begin your service, try to experience the issues addressed by the agency through a novel, autobiography, film, interview, etc.  Reflect and write on that experience (try to get and communicate a feel for the issues the agency addresses).  Make sure you experience the reading / movie from the perspective of the site at which you are working.

3. Scriptural Connections #1 (2 pg).
Draft in class A1, B1, C1, D1, E1 the week of 10/8
Final Draft A1, B1, C1, D1, E1 the week of 10/15           

Find a story from Scripture that speaks to the issues and work of the agency you are working with.  Reflect on the story and what it meant to the people it was originally spoken to, what it means to us today and what it means in relation to the agency work you are doing.  Click here for more information on composing your Scripture connections.

4. Brief history (3 pgs). 
Draft in class A1, B1, C1, D1, E1 the week of 10/22
Final Draft A1, B1, C1, D1, E1 the week of 10/29

Using at least one interview, discover the agencies history and tell its story.  How has your agency related to local / national governmental powers (received funds, had to fight for services, etc.)?  How have they been portrayed in the media?  What major conflicts has the agency had to deal with?  What has caused these conflicts in your agency (scarce resources, cultural difficulties, special privilege, discrimination, etc.)?

5. Levels of Service (2 pgs).
Draft in class A1, B1, C1, D1, E1 the week of 11/5
Final Draft A1, B1, C1, D1, E1 the week of 11/12

Thoroughly explain the "fish" analogy and apply its five levels of service to your specific service agency/experience (be sure to touch on each level even if it is to explain why your agency does not work at that level).  Click here for a review of the fish analogy.

6. Justice Issues (2 pgs).
Draft in class A1, B1, C1, D1, E1 the week of 12/3
Final Draft A1, B1, C1, D1, E1 the week of 12/10

Identify and reflect upon the justice issues (Click here to review the justice principles) that the agency is trying to combat.  What are they doing to combat the issue?  Is what they are doing helping or hurting the cause?  What could the agency, you, the community and/or the government do to continue to fight for this justice issue (list 10 possibilities)?

7. Legislation (2 pg).
Draft in class A1, B1, C1, D1, E1 the week of 1/14
Final Draft A1, B1, C1, D1, E1 the week of 1/21

Identify legislation at the city, state or national level that addresses the justice issues being dealt with at your service agency (review your MS #6).  What is the history of this legislation?  Is it still pending?  How did/will your local representatives vote on this particular piece of legislation?  How did/does the legislation seek to bring about systemic change and how did/would it affect people at your service site?  How did/would the legislation affect the poor and the vulnerable.  What other information regarding the legislation do you see as being pertinent to your site?

8. Focus Group Needs Assessment (1 pg).
Draft in class A1, B1, C1, D1, E1 the week of 1/28
Final Draft A1, B1, C1, D1, E1 the week of 2/4   

Select a group of at least three people associated with the agency for which you serve.  Facilitate a focus group to discuss the issues most pressing for this agency and discuss how you and your group could address one of these issues.  Record a summary of this interview along with the answers to the two questions noted below for MS 8.  1. How you will accomplish the implementation of the task.  2. Why this would make a difference for the agency / those being served.

9. Taking Action (2 pgs).
Draft in class A1, B1, C1, D1, E1 the week of 2/11
Final Draft A1, B1, C1, D1, E1 the week of 2/18                   

Create a flyer, write a letter to a local newspaper, design a website or do one of the things you noted in MS8 to assist in the work of your agency.  Make sure that you talk with your agency contact person to ensure that you can use their name, numbers, logos, etc.  After it is completed, make public your work (and turn one copy in).

10. A Life Lived Well--Biography project (2 pg).
Draft in class A1, B1, C1, D1, E1 the week of 2/25
Final Draft A1, B1, C1, D1, E1 the week of 3/3   

Identify a person you feel has really made a difference (or is making a difference) at your site.  It could be a paid employee, a volunteer or someone the agency serves.  This person needs to embody the spirit of Catholic social teaching, but they need not be Catholic.  Request an interview (or base your writings on the observations you have made of the individual) and write a biographical sketch of the individual.  Make sure you include which of the principles of Catholic social teaching they demonstrate.

11. Scriptural Connections #2 (2 pg).
Draft in class A1, B1, C1, D1, E1 the week of 4/7
Final Draft A1, B1, C1, D1, E1 the week of 4/14

Find a story from Scripture (different from your previous reflection) that speaks to the issues and work of the agency you are working with.  Reflect on the story and what it meant to the people it was originally spoken to, what it means to us today and what it means in relation to the agency work you are doing.  Click here for more information on composing your Scripture connections.

12. Reflections on the study (3 pgs).
Draft in class A1, B1, C1, D1, E1 the week of 4/21
Final Draft Due in Final Copy of Major Study (Exam Bell)

Look back at step 1 and compare what you know and believe now with what you did then.  What do you think now about your agency?  What prejudgments had you made about its clientele?  Were they accurate?  Why or why not?  How have your views changed?  How can you put the peace and justice principles experienced into action in your own life?

13. A final edit  Mid May                    
Due: Your exam bell

Make all final changes to your sections and gather them into one document.  Make a table of contents and a creative cover.  As a group decide which one of your major studies will be given to your agency (turn in two copies of this paper).  For final edit information click here.  

Find someone to read and reflect on your work.  They should write a 1pg reaction paper in which they reflect on what they learned about the agency, the justice issues and you.